Joshie's parents,

Welcome to NeuroTalk. I am sorry to hear of you son's two injuries. I can understand the anguish you are going through.

You are correct about the value of CT's and MRI's. Hopefully, a doctor has told you how to watch him for new and possibly dangerous symptoms. If he is a busy little guy, you will be hard pressed to slow him down.

He needs quiet rest as much as he can get. More importantly, he needs to be protected from another head impact. If he is going to be out and about with you unable to constantly watch him and keep him corralled, you may want to find him a full coverage helmet, the Styrofoam kind. It should cover his ears and forehead so that it stays in place. Most bike helmets easily slip out of position and leave the forehead exposed. Skateboard and ski helmets tend to have better protection.

It will also help him and his friends remember that his brain is injured.

All of his symptoms are normal. Try to help him understand that they are caused by his injury and will take a while to get better. He is not going crazy or getting stupid. Don't let his friends tease him about this. he does not need the stress. In fact, if you can help him learn to laugh at his broken brain, it may help him. Many of us call the speech and other obvious symptoms 'brain farts.' You can come up with the appropriate terms so he can tolerate his goof ups.

His personality issues are likely where he will need the most help. If his friends react negatively, it can become very confusing. Anything you can do to help his friends understand why he may be acting different will help. 5 year olds will not necessarily understand but their parents should be able to be supportive.

When I was 10, my personality changed from a bike accident concussion. I did not understand why most of my friends turned away from me.

If you can get him to sit down and play simple games or with quiet toys/blocks/Legos/ etc., The slower pace will help his brain. If you can, try to institute a few times during the day when he has quiet play time for a hour or so.

Keep him away from video games, loud noise, too many voices, visual stimulation, etc. Limit his high sugar content foods, especially high fructose corn syrup. Research shows that HFCS is the worst for an injured brain.

If he feels sore on his head or neck, use some ice to help him feel better. You can make a soft/moldable icepack with isopropyl alcohol and water in a 1 part alcohol to 3 parts water frozen in zip lock bag. It is not uncommon for a concussion to include upper neck trauma that goes undiagnosed.

And, let us know how you all are doing. We know the recovery can be slow and frustrating.

My best to you.